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Introducing Unified Communications Security

Security is a serious topic and, unfortunately, it is either overlooked, exposing organizations to risks, or incorrectly addressed through cumbersome solutions. In the series of blog articles I will try to shed light on what you should pay attention to, in terms of security, when choosing a UC solution.

Notwithstanding all the advantages of a UC solution, there is one important prejudice against its adoption: security concerns.

There is a widespread belief that VoIP solutions based on SIP are not secure, and that their usage must be blocked, or at least limited to local networks (eventually extended by VPNs).

Nothing could be further from reality. Well-developed and deployed VoIP solutions that are based on SIP and XMPP are actually more secure than traditional communications.

How did the prejudice start and spread?

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Hospitality software Integrations via FIAS

This time we will talk about integrations with hospitality management systems via FIAS network protocol.

FIAS

As we saw in the blog article Vertical Solutions for Retail, Education, Hospitality, Healthcare, integration with hospitality software automates operations such as:

  • Check-ins / check-outs
  • Minibar charges
  • Call charges
  • Room status updates
  • Do-not-disturb status updates

The most popular PMS systems support a TCP network protocol called FIAS, which allows integration with PBX / UC systems. FIAS was developed by Micros (now Oracle) to allow communication between its PMS Fidelio and external systems such as PBXs, Keys Management Systems, and PoS.

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Monitoring and analyzing the UC system history

In this blog article we will examine which tools are available for monitoring and analyzing the communication history of the system.

The UC system typically provides one or more of the following resources:

  • CDR (Call Data Record) – information about calls
  • Call Groups / Queue Logs – or other specific logs
  • Syslog – information about the system
  • Chat / geolocation logs

This information can be used by our application and integrated with the UC server to perform a specific monitoring and analysis or show reports.

Syslog

It is important to troubleshoot any technical issues that might arise.

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Using TAPI and Web API for integration of UC capabilities

In the previous blog article (TAPI Windows and Web APIs Integrations) we investigated the definition of TAPI and Web API. This time we will discover which Unified Communication capabilities can be integrated using these technologies.

Smart Routing

Even before a user answers the customer’s call, the UC system can automate the processing of the call itself.

It can, for example, determine who should answer the call, the level of service agreed, and even the preferred language. This is done by integrating with our application before the call is delivered to a user.

The integration can be achieved either via TAPI routing points or by using web requests to an external service.

In the case of TAPI routing points, our application receives a notification that there is a call waiting and information about it. After performing all relevant operations, the application can reply by requesting that the call be transferred to a specific operator or to voicemail.

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TAPI Windows and Web APIs Integrations

TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface) allows out-of-the-box integrations with many applications (such as Microsoft Outlook) and call center software (such as VoxTron).

TAPI is an abstraction layer that can interact both in ICC mode (controlling, in this case, only one device) or ICS mode (controlling many devices at once). The number of advantages provided by ICS mode justifies the selection of a PBX that supports it.

The huge advantage for software houses that are considering using TAPI is that, once the integration is completed, it can be used with numerous PBXs already on the market.

TAPI’s most basic feature, which is also supported by most PBXs, is dial. More advanced features include call answering and disconnecting a call.

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